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Clay body being poured into a Simple Vision Hot P’tatoe mould

Like any great dish Simple Vision is held together by the key ingredients; tradition, materials & technology

Tradition provides us with design guidance, materials provide us with new ideas and inspiration, and technology is used to develop and render the ideas exactly.Simple Vision has been extended and fine tuned this year through the reduced packaging footprint of existing products and the introduction of new fabric packaging, which offers you the novelty of doing the dishes with your product packaging.

We also welcome the new addition; ‘Entré’, a delight for the cuisine minded. This bowl and platter combination creates new presentation opportunities to give you a dinner with a difference.

Simple Vision is the creation of designer Timothy Allan. The concept surrounds Timothy’s love of ceramics and timber, combined with sustainable design and technology.

Timothy and his team of designers work at Locus

Research in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.

We love the environment we live in, and work hard to design in a way that will minimise damage to it. This is achieved not only by design, but through research into sustainable product design, tools and methods.

All products have an impact on the environment but there are a range of things that can be done to minimise this impact, starting with knowing the products, the materials and the producers intimately. We approach sustainability from a broad point of view and look at the whole product life cycle.

Our suppliers are based in New Zealand and are ethical producers and employers. We contribute to the survival of the skills and craft that are essential to us as designers.

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An important component of Simple Vision, tradition offers many design references and ideals which appeal in this hazy age. From the reduction and asymmetry of Japanese ceramics to the simple texture and feel of a real material in your hands.

It was a Japanese art critic Soyetsu Yanagi at the turn of the 20th Century who said “utility is the first principal of beauty”. This means that utility is an integral and important part of the design.

In the rare and beautiful book “How to Wrap Five Eggs” Hideuki Oka illustrates the beauty of reduction with traditional Japanese packaging. This Darwinian approach to design is something we take to heart by continuously working on existing designs and improving and observing them over time.

To provide a sense of gift for someone else or yourself, our product is packaged without the need for a curled ribbon. Our simple packaging materials include screen printed unbleached card, linen sleeves and waxed cotton cord. This eliminates the unnecessary use of plastic. The disassembly construction style provides simple and

effective packaging that also helps prevent damage

to the product in transit.

Inspired by Japanese calligraphy, our logo is illustrated in freeform script. Calligraphy is not merely an exercise in good handwriting, but rather the foremost art form of the Orient which has been studied for over three thousand years. It is the combination of the skill and imagination of the person who has studied intensely the combinations available using only lines.

In the West, calligraphy was intended to suppress individuality and produce a uniform style. Japanese calligraphy (sho in Japanese) attempts to bring words to life, and endow them with character.

Quality is something that cannot be achieved without great crafts people. All Simple Vision products are made and assembled with the special attention to detail only found among local businesses that have friendly skilled staff. This is also partly due to the amount of time we have to spend with them!

Our ceramics producer specialises in handmade and hand painted ceramic tableware. The applied experience of the team in areas including clay body, glaze design, mould making and firing, enables designs to be prototyped and experimented with easily. All of our works are slip cast and then hand fettled, finished, fired and glazed.

Our timber pieces are manufactured locally by a family company (with over 160 years of accumulated cabinet making experience between them) who create a quality product every time. They combine old-school finesse with modern technology. They operate CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machinery to create precision work. This ensures the integrity of our design is transferred seamlessly from CAD model to machine.

Whilst our philosophy has a strong reference to traditional values we also value technology. It is embraced across all aspects of our design and development program for new products.

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Clay body being poured into a Simple Vision Hot P’tatoe mould

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All products are designed and tested through parametric CAD modelling prior to prototyping and manufacture. Digital documentation forms the basis of the first product trials.

Production specifications are also essential, and as product designers we pride ourselves on our in-depth manufacturing documentation. This ensures that our products are made with careful adherence to our quality and finishing guidelines.

The apparently simple material combinations require careful monitoring of tolerances to ensure effective fitment of parts.

Textiles are an increasing part of our work and our linen packaging producer is from the top end of fashion. Materials are carved up on a Gerber computer cutter and then sewn, picked and ironed ready for dispatch.

By combining natural materials each is contrasted and enhanced by the other.

Our carefully selected timber is known as ‘Tasmanian Oak’ which is the generic name for a group of eucalyptus species grown primarily in Victoria and Tasmania, with E. regnans, E. delegatensis, and E. obliqua being the most common. Tasmanian Oak is light in colour, varying from straw to reddish brown, and is a warm, dense and resilient hardwood.

In Tasmania, over 1 million hectares of eucalypt forest on public land are managed for multiple sustainable uses that include tourism, recreation, timber production, and conservation. There are also 2.7 million hectares of land secured in dedicated reserves in which logging is not permitted. These reserves comprise 40% of the area of the state.

The timber is finished with organic hard burnishing oil. This oil, once cured, is hard, and water resistant. It contains tung oil which is resinous by nature. This means

it will harden by itself, curing usually taking around 8 weeks to occur (12 weeks in winter). ’Burnishing’ (the use of heat and friction) is used to reduce this curing time. Critical to use in the Simple Vision range, this oil is food safe and non-toxic.

The body of the clay used in our products is halloysitic clay sourced from Matauri Bay, Northland, New Zealand. This is known as one of the whitest clays in the world due to the almost complete absence of iron which gives normal clay its characteristic orange/brown tones. Because of the whiteness of the clay it is not necessary to colour the pieces so the clear vitreous glaze simply reveals and enhances its purity.

There is a small amount of other clays and minerals mixed into the clay body to improve its structure. These include silica from Australia and clay from Norway and Germany.

Although energy intensive to produce, aluminium is one of the most recyclable metals with strong evidence of reuse with pre-existing supply chains to support this. Our alloy sports an anodised finish, which is an integral oxidised layer.

Environmentally, the anodising process is better for recycling as it does not create another material layer.

The fabric used to wrap the Entré and Milky Sweet double packs is made up of 55% linen and 45% cotton. This material was selected after considerable trials to best work as a polishing cloth or tea towel, and to effectively retain enough tension in the fabric to hold the product together beautifully.

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Slip setting in a Hot P’tatoe mould

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Raw halloysitic clay from Matauri Bay, NZ

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The Milky Sweet is a casual customer that can accompany the finest espresso, or for the less wired,

the leafiest tea. A simple juxtaposition of materials, the ceramic cup slips neatly into a grooved timber coaster.

MILKY SWEET doubleINGREDIENTS

Two Ceramic Cups made from Matauri Bay halloysite clay fired with a clear, resilient, lead-free & food-safe glaze. Two Tasmanian Oak Coasters preserved with a natural food-safe plant oil.

Hot, hot, hot. Scalding hot pans will be reduced to trembling wrecks after a run in with the Hot P’tatoe.

These concentric corrugated plates will protect your table top from a steaming soup dish or rogue BBQ tray in style.

Made to perform, this little trivet is dishwasher friendly and the gloss surface ensures that it is easy to clean.

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MILKY SWEET singleINGREDIENTS

One Ceramic Cup made from Matauri Bay halloysite clay fired with a clear, resilient, lead-free & food-safe glaze. One Tasmanian Oak Coaster preserved with a natural food-safe plant oil.

Slip setting in a Hot P’tatoe mould

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One Ceramic Hot Plate made from Matauri Bay halloysite clay fired with a clear, resilient, lead-free & food safe glaze.

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ENTRE singleINGREDIENTS

One ceramic bowl made from Matauri Bay halloysite clay fired with a clear, resilient, lead-free & food-safe glaze One Tasmanian Oak platter preserved with a natural food-safe plant oil.

Entré sil vous plait, an alfresco combination of a ceramic bowl set off with a platter that creates its own placemat, or produce placement. Perfect for serving up a cool summer gazpacho for two with ciabatta on the side, or a single serve of ‘Noodles Nouvelle Zelande’.

Our two options cater for the amorous (double) and the more contemplative self (single).

ENTRE doubleINGREDIENTS

Two ceramic bowls made from Matauri Bay halloysite clay fired with a clear, resilient, lead-free & food-safe glaze. Two Tasmanian Oak platters preserved with a natural food-safe plant oil.

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STERLING shelf 900mmINGREDIENTS

One Tasmanian Oak 900mm grooved shelf preserved with a natural food-safe plant oil. This timber is sourced from a sustainably managed forest. Two strong, durable anodised aluminium brackets and 6 stainless steel fastening screws for affixing to the wall. These brackets are fully recyclable.

Sterling is the mantel you never had, for storing all your precious things. Sterling solidly delivers a smooth groove to prevent those family photos, precious books, CDs and other trinkets from slipping off the shelf.

STERLING shelf 1300mmINGREDIENTS

One Tasmanian Oak 1300mm grooved shelf preserved with a natural food-safe plant oil. This timber is sourced from a sustainably managed forest. Two strong, durable anodised aluminium brackets and 6 stainless steel fastening screws for affixing to the wall. These brackets are fully recyclable.

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The shelf is neatly contrasted by the anodised alloy brackets. You can choose between two lengths (900mm & 1300mm) in either a natural or black finish.

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Care InstructionsAll ceramic items are dishwasher and microwave safe.

Timber is a natural product, and as such can vary

in colour and density. Do not put timber items in the

dishwasher, as it will damage the product. Please wipe

with a moist cloth or by hand. It is recommended that

the timber items are re-oiled occasionally with an oil

like Organoil’s Hard Burnishing Oil to maintain their high

appearance and to ensure the items do not watermark.

Organoil is available from http://www.natural-oils.co.nz

or by contacting Simple Vision.

Product WarrantyOur products have been carefully conceived and

thought through from both a material and functional

perspective. If your product appears faulty or does not

perform to our high standards, we will do our best to

remedy this without cost to you.

All of these materials will wear over time, however, our

choices should provide you with lasting satisfaction.

Contact DetailsStudio Mauao

1st Floor, 4A Grove Avenue

P O Box 4141, Mount Maunganui Sth

Tauranga 3149

New Zealand

Phone: +64 7 571 5007

info@locusresearch.com